Earlier this spring, I visited the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, a museum a few miles north of West Point. The Hall of Honor, a museum dedicated to the history of the Purple Heart medal, is currently involved in recording oral histories of those who fought in battle and earned this treasured award.
I had originally heard of the Purple Heart Hall of Honor when, at a New York State Thruway rest area, I grabbed some of the advertising cards in the display racks – you know, the kind that promote various New York State amusements, museums, fairs, tourist attractions, the like. The Purple Heart Hall of Honor was among those advertising cards I perused. The concept of a military museum dedicated to a single, ubiquitous and iconic medal, intrigued me. It also intrigued the editors at RoadKing magazine, who asked for an article on the museum and its oral history project.
Among the displays at the Purple Heart Hall of Honor is the only surviving displayable Purple Heart cloth award (then known as the “Badge of Military Merit”), which was presented from General George Washington to three of his soldiers for bravery in battle. The fabric badge on display is delicate and can only be exposed to light for a couple of seconds. A collection of cannons and rifles are stored at the Hall of Honor, and interactive displays explain the history of the Purple Heart, the estimated number of recipients, and in what wars those awards were earned. The Hall of Honor is also looking for stories from veterans who have earned the medal – hoping those recipients will tell their stories of bravery and courage on the field of battle, as well as their emotions upon returning home to loved ones – or, in many cases, their descendants telling the stories of the loved ones that sadly, never came home.
The RoadKing article can be accessed on line here; you can also pick up a free copy of RoadKing by visiting any TravelCenters of America truck stop or rest area (the closest ones to the Capital District are off the Thruway in Fultonville, or off I-84 in Orange County). You can also visit The Purple Heart Hall of Honor online, by going to http://www.thepurpleheart.com.
Chuck The Writer 